The Burden of Battle

Balkawade.The Marathas spent Rs 92.23 lakh on the third battle of Panipat in 1761 when they took on Afghan king Ahmed Shah Abdali. The amount translates into a whopping Rs 1,500 crore by present standards, reveal documents pertaining to the war, in which the Marathas were on the losing side.

Pune-based scholar Pandurang Balkawade has trawled through 15,000 documents over the past 10 months in the Pune Archives and stumbled upon papers which reveal the numbers. He claims it is for the first time that details of the military expenditure of an Indian ruler have come to light.

"I never intended to find the balance sheet, but I found papers which led me to it," he told INDIA TODAY.

Noted historian Vishwas Patil, who has written the book Panipat on the battle acknowledges the study and says, "It is for the first time that the balance sheet of an Indian ruler's battle has been traced. I do not think the figure of Rs 92.23 lakh is an exaggeration."

Giving details of the epic battle, Balkawade says the Maratha army had 65,000 constabulary, 30,000 infantry and 50,000 workers including spies and workers. The Pune-based scholar plans to get his research published in 2012.